(Minghui.org) Authorities in Chongqing threatened to take a 70-year-old local woman to prison after she exhausted local appeals channels, having previously allowed her to postpone serving time. Knowing that Ms. Hu Kaijin was the sole caregiver for her incapacitated husband, they offered financial incentives for her to report to prison. When she rejected the offers, they froze all of her bank accounts.
Ms. Hu’s ordeal stemmed from her initial arrest on July 17, 2020 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. She was held at a brainwashing center for 12 days and released on a one-year bail. The Kaizhou District Court sentenced her to five years with a 15,000-yuan fine on December 28, 2021. She appealed to the Chongqing Second Intermediate Court, which months later ruled to uphold her original verdict. She continued to appeal to the Chongqing High Court, which also rejected her on an unknown date.
Ms. Hu’s husband was diagnosed with late-stage throat cancer in 2014. His larynx was surgically removed and he can no longer talk. He also needs a special diet. Due to his condition, the couple struggled to find a good caregiver for him and Ms. Hu has since been caring for him. Ms. Hu’s arrest and sentencing dealt a blow to him, and his condition worsened. He has now completely lost the ability to eat, and can only consume fluids.
Having targeted Ms. Hu repeatedly for her faith in Falun Gong, the local authorities knew her family situation well. In order to make her agree to report to prison after her latest appeal was rejected, they made various promises about her husband’s care. When that did not work, they froze all of her bank accounts and her WeChat payment account, the main payment system used in China.
Details of Authorities’ Attempts to Jail Ms. Hu
On April 14, 2024, Zhang, the residential committee director, Zhou Jianming, deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), and another officer surnamed Wu Mingjun, harassed Ms. Hu at home. Wu returned on June 21 and informed Ms. Hu that the Kaizhou District Court intended for her to start serving her prison term.
Ms. Hu went to the residential committee on June 28 to look for someone, and happened to see the local officials having a meeting to discuss her case, including Zhang, Zhou, Wu, Zhong Junren, a PLAC director, two officers from the Kaizhou District Police Department, Chen from the Wangjiang Police Station, and Tang Weiming, director of the Wanzhou Domestic Security Division. They offered to provide financial support to her husband and hire an in-home caregiver for him while she served time. They also promised subsidies if she agreed to report to prison. She refused to accept any of the offers.
The Kaizhou District Court froze all of Ms. Hu’s bank accounts at 2:53 p.m. on June 28, along with the WeChat account she used to pay her day-to-day expenses.
It’s not clear whether the authorities harassed Ms. Hu again after that or whether she has been taken back into custody at the time of this writing.
Related Reports:
68-Year-Old Woman Files Motion to Reconsider Wrongful Sentence After Losing Appeal
Two Elderly Women, Including One in Her 80s, Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith
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